Staff

Biography: Irina Elena Cristea received the PhD in Mathematics, with specialization in Algebra, in 2007, from the University of Constantza, Romania. She started the research career in 2003 at the University of Iasi, Romania, where she worked as Teaching Assistant for 4 years. After a postdoctoral position at Udine University, Italy, in January 2012, she was employed at the University of Nova Gorica, as Assistant Professor in Mathematics, conducting research in Algebraic Hyperstructure Theory. Since 2017, she is Associate Professor in Mathematics, being affiliated with the Centre for Information Technologies and Applied Mathematics. Since October 2020 she is co-chief editor of Italian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, published by Fare-Forum Editrice Universitaria Udinese. Besides she is associated editor for Heliyon, published by Elsevier, and member of the editorial board of Mathematics, published by MDPI, where she led 2 special issues in 2022. She also acts as a reviewer for numerous mathematical journals.

Role: She is currently teaching Mathematics at the School of Engineering and Management, School of Environmental Sciences, School of Applied Sciences. She is also the coordinator of several Erasmus agreements and member of the senate of the School of Engineering and Management. Currently she is head of the Centre for Information Technologies and Applied Mathematics.

Research interests: algebraic hypercompositional structure theory and connections with fuzzy sets and their generalizations.

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Biography: Imre Cikajlo received the Ph.D. degree in robotics and electrical engineering from the University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. From 2003 until 2004 he was a post-doc Fellow at the Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, and in 2007 a visiting researcher at University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Currently he is the Dean of The School of Engineering and Management and a Senior Researcher at University Rehabilitation Institute Soča. He has published more than 100 high impact journal papers, chapters in esteemed books and serves as an associate editor of PloSOne and member of the editorial board of International Journal of Rehabilitation Research.

Role: Imre Cikajlo is a Full Professor of electrical engineering at the School of Engineering and Management and a lecturer for Methods of System Engineering, Internet of Things and Digital resource & document management. At the moment he is the Dean of The School of Engineering and Management and a Director of the Bachelor degree programme Engineering and Management.

Research interests: biomechanics, integration of sensory information, control of machine and human movements , rehabilitation robotics and integration of virtual reality and artificial intelligence into robotics.

Biography: Hashem Bordbar received the PhD in Mathematics in 2017 from the University of Shahid Bahonar, Iran. His research is related to the commutative algebra and algebraic hypercompositional structures. Also, he was awarded with a scholarship to carry out part of his Ph.D. research in the Gyeongsang National University, South Korea. As a postdoctoral fellow, he worked at the University of Shahid Beheshti, Iran. His research career in this period focused on applications of algebraic (hypercompositional)structures in computer sciences and coding theory. In December 2019 he joint the University of Nova Gorica, as a postdoc in the Centre of Information Technologies and Applied Mathematics. In March 2022 he got his habilitation as Assistant Professor in mathematics.

Role: He is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of Engineering and Management, Faculty of Environmental Science, School of Viticulture and Enology and Faculty of Science. Also, he works as a researcher in Algebra within the Centre for Information Technologies and Applied Mathematics.

Research interests: commutative algebra, ordered algebra, hyperstructure algebra, fuzzy sets, coding theory and cryptography.

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Biography: Ahmad Hosseini started his PhD at Saarland University (Germany) and completed it at Sabanci University (Turkey) in Industrial Engineering-Operations Research (with a minor in Computer Science), where he also worked as a teaching assistant. After his doctoral studies, he participated in two postdoc programs in Industrial Optimization, Systems Engineering, and Forest Engineering (as a postdoctoral fellow and postdoctoral associate) in different departments of Umeå University (Sweden), where he was also a lecturer in the Industrial Engineering and Management program. In the meantime, he also served as the principal advisor/co-advisor for graduate students and supervised miscellaneous industrial projects in Mathematics and Industrial Engineering. His primary research interests are interdisciplinary and centered on Applied Mathematics, Industrial Engineering, and Operations Research, ranging from theory to design and implementation. Particularly, he is interested in modeling and solving combinatorial & industrial optimization problems in Forest Engineering, Supply Chains, Distribution, Logistics, and Transportation Systems. His research is mainly based on mathematical programming techniques, network optimization algorithms, heuristics, and a combination of heuristics/metaheuristics with exact/approximation/stochastic optimization techniques.

Role: He is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of Engineering and Management and the School of Viticulture and Enology at the University of Nova Gorica, being affiliated with the Centre for Information Technologies and Applied Mathematics.

Research interests: Theoretical and Applied Operations Research, Discrete Optimization, Mathematical Modeling, Network Optimization, Forest Engineering, Systems Engineering, Transportation Networks, Distribution and Logistics, Linear Programming, Disaster Management, Uncertainty Theory.

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Biography: Juš Kocijan received the doctorate in electrical engineering from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. His past experience in the field of control engineering includes teaching and research at the University of Ljubljana and visiting research and teaching posts at several European universities and research institutes.

Role: He is currently a senior researcher at the Department of Systems and Control, Jozef Stefan Institute and Professor of Electrical Engineering at the School of Engineering and Management, University of Nova Gorica, Slovenia. His other experience includes: running a number of international and domestic research projects, serving as editor and on editorial boards of research journals, serving as a member of IFAC Technical committee on Computational Intelligence in Control. Prof. Kocijan is a Senior member IEEE, IEEE Control Systems Society, a member of SLOSIM – Slovenian Society for Simulation and Modelling and Automatic control society of Slovenia.

Research interests: modelling of dynamic systems with Gaussian process models, Control based on Gaussian process models, Multiple-model approaches to modelling and control, Applied nonlinear control, Individual Channel Analysis and Design.

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Biography: Alessandro Linzi received the doctorate in Mathematics in 2022 from the University of Szczecin, Poland. His research is related to the model theory of valued fields with special attention to the applications of hypercompositional algebra in this area of investigation. His studies and research in Poland were founded by the European Union in the framework of a project to promote international scientific studies. In September 2022 he joint the University of Nova Gorica, as an assistant with PhD in the field of mathematics, in the Centre of Information Technologies and Applied Mathematics.

Role: He is currently working as an assistant with PhD at the School of Engineering and Management, Faculty of Environmental Science and School of Viticulture. He also works as a researcher in Algebra within the Centre for Information Technologies and Applied Mathematics.

Research interests: Algebra, Model Theory, Hypercompositional Algebra, Valuation Theory, Mathematical Logic.

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Biography: Henrik Gjerkeš graduated at the Faculty of Technology in Maribor. He finished his Masters and in 1999 PhD study at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, where he worked as a researcher and assistant until 2006, when he started work as a fellow researcher and university professor – assistant professor at the School of Engineering and Management and the School of Applied Sciences at the University of Nova Gorica. His scientific-research work is supplemented with cooperation in national and international project activities in the field of sustainable development and innovative systems for renewable energy sources utilisation, in cooperation with economy, local and regional communities, non-government organisations and/or government offices. From 2009 to 2011 he was Minister for self-government and regional policy in the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. Since 2011 he is employed at the University of Nova Gorica and at the Building and Civil Engineering Institute ZRMK in Ljubljana.

Role: Henrik Gjerkeš is a lecturer of the subject Introduction to the modern technological systems at the School of Engineering and Management, and the subject Optimization procedures in environmental protection at the School of Environmental Sciences. He is a member of the Centre for Information Technologies and Applied Mathematics, mentor to numerous graduates, and a member of the Study affairs committee at the School of Engineering and Management.

Research interests: heat transfer, process engineering, sustainable development, renewable energy sources, efficiency energy use, environmental technologies, measurement techniques, modern technological systems, regional development, European cohesion policy.

Biography: Tanja Urbančič was the dean of the School of Engineering and Management at the University of Nova Gorica for more than 20 years. Till November 2023 she was a researcher and full professor in the field of computer science, at the same university. Her main research and teaching activities are in the field of knowledge management and knowledge technologies with applications in science and education. Recently, her focus has shifted mainly to open education. She contributed to the development of new methods for modelling of human skill and for knowledge discovery with literature mining. She co-authored several book chapters and journal papers in IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge Engineering Review, International Journal of Innovating and Learning, ACM Computing Surveys, Open Praxis and others. She has over twenty years of experience with the design and implementation of study programmes and with the introduction of new teaching methods into practice. She chairs the stirring committee for e-learning at the University of Nova Gorica. Together with mag. Mitja Jermol, she developed and launched an international on-line mentoring program Open Education for a Better World (oe4bw.org). In collaboration with the UNESCO chair on Open Technologies for Open Educational Resources and Open Learning she upgraded it into an international Master's study programme Leadership in Open Education, offered at the University of Nova Gorica.

Role: Tanja Urbančič was full professor of computer science. She acted as a Dean of School of Engineering and Management at the University of Nova Gorica for more than 20 years, where she also tought knowledge management and coordinated students’ projects. She was also the director of the Master's study programme Leadership in Open Education at the University of Nova Gorica.

Research interests: modeling of human skill, knowledge discovery with data mining, knowledge management and its applications in science and education, information technologies for open education.

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